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Chuenjitwongsa S, Oliver RG, Bullock AD. Eur J Dent Ed 2018; 22: 1–8

Becoming a competent dental practitioner is a staged process – from novice, to beginner, to competent, progressing to proficient and finally expert.

Competence is different to performance, yet often dental undergraduates are assessed on the performance of task, rather than overall competency. Competency is a capability which covers a broad scope of professional attributes, whereas performance refers to a specific set of skills appropriate to a professional. Performance can therefore be seen as a part of competence. Competence includes a wide range of personal attributes, including perceptiveness, openness, creativity and social skills.

Whilst traditional dental education focuses on specific tasks, and is influenced both by what the teachers themselves know and the institutional structures within which they work, a competency-based education (CBE) is informed both by the needs of patients and society as a whole. CBE also emphasises student-centred learning and flexibility of learning opportunities for students who may develop at different rates. Assessment of competency measures more than the ability on a one-off occasion to perform a specific task as in Observed Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) or Structured Clinical Operative Tests (SCOT), which may not encourage the student to deeper learning and understanding. Whilst recognising that CBE requires greater resources than traditional education, the authors also discuss the difficulties of assessing the integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes which competency implies.

The authors also discuss competence in relation to dental educators. They suggest that they progress, as dental students do, from novice to competent, as they acquire the knowledge and understanding of educational principles. The role of the dental educator should not be seen simply as an information provider, but should be progressive, encouraging learning and competence by providing support and feedback. They would become expert as they gained understanding of different educational strategies and the ability to lead innovation in educational practice and to mentor and guide new teachers. Dental educators should perhaps see their teaching careers as separate but parallel pathways to their clinical careers which require as much time to develop and maintain as their clinical competencies.

Undergraduate dental education is more than the learning of clinical procedures and the authors hope is that this discussion of competency based education will provide a baseline for further development of the profession as a whole.